


It Shouldn't Be That Simple

by livetosail



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Blind Character, Blindness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Roller Coaster, Fluff and Angst, Love, M/M, Ocean, Relationship(s), Romance, merman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 15:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8672287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livetosail/pseuds/livetosail
Summary: The merman is legally blind.  Yuuri lives his world in a cave system far off the shore that he grew up in.  Hunting is too difficult for him, so he learned to grow large patches of algae to feed himself, plus whatever starfish and other shelled creatures occasionally wandered in. He enjoys the occasional company of dolphins.  It’s been years since his parents left.  It’s been years since he met anyone. On day, a violent storm churned the ocean. The next, another merman has decided the caves are to be a nice home. The blind merman has nowhere left to go. But he cannot run this other out.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, this idea popped into my head and I HAD to write it. 
> 
> Feel free to leave comments!! I love hearing from you guys.

On clear, bright sunny days the world is a fuzzy mess. The only way to get the shapes to be moderately clear is to get within a few inches of his nose. On cloudy stormy days, everything is too dark. 

Yuuri learned early in his life that the cave, though often dark, meant safety. His parents did what they could to help him learn as well. His mother taught him how to raise patches of algae. That often aided in attracting some little creatures that helped the raven-haired mermaid have variety in his meal. 

His mother had stayed around longer than she should have. Yuuri missed her bright pink tail though, and following around after her with bright smiles and giggles. He rarely giggled now or ventured out far from the cave system he lived in. He had at least taken on both appearances of this parents in some manner. Like his mother, his tail was two toned. The tips were supposedly a dark blue, almost black. Following up from the flutes of his tail was a beautiful and bright blue. Or at least he thought the colors were nice. Blue was rare, or at least his father had said so. Like his father, Yuuri had dark hair and large chocolate eyes. 

But his eyes were worthless. It had become apparent moments after the pup had been born. Instead of just normal clumsiness, Yuuri constantly just ran into things. When he finally had words, he described to his parents that everything was just so fuzzy and dark. Even tiny, the little merman could tell his parents were disappointed. Such a rare tail color would have meant he got a mate easily. But instead, he stayed secluded in the caves after his parents had run off. There would never be pod life for Yuuri. That had become apparent when the first time his parents had attempted to take him out to swim, he’d become helplessly disoriented by the unfamiliar shapes and creatures. No amount of swimming with his parents helped get the raven-haired pup in adjusting to the mysterious of the ocean. Seasons had passed. His parents had to return to their pod. By then, Yuuri had at least convinced them he was happy in the caves. He felt safe there. 

What the merman had not expected was the loneliness. It was something he had never experienced before with his parents always around. He often sung to himself. However, that stopped as he attracted too much attention in the quietness of this part of the ocean. A pod of roving unmated males had come to his singing. They attempted to lure Yuuri with them on their exploration of the world. It had turned to teasing when they figured out of his lack of sight. Boredom had finally run them off as Yuuri hid within the depths of his caves. 

Today was a dark day. The sun hid behind the clouds, much to Yuuri’s displeasure. Days like today made his loneliness worse as he lounged in the soft sands just outside of his cave. He could hear the ocean above him tossing unhappily. The currents were picking up as well. It made him seek the comfort of the deep inners of the cave system as the day progressively worsened. 

The blonde sang softly to himself in attempts to lift his spirits. However, it did not help as he accidently crushed a smooth shell he’d collected with his parents. It had been an accident, having left it carelessly in a place he frequented. There was no saving the shell either. He finally placed it out of the cave in time to hear and see the bright flashes of lightening. 

A violent storm had snuck up. Yuuri hated storms. 

They tossed the ocean and threw debris into his caves. 

He fled into the safety of the back of the caves. After a few minutes, he wiggled himself into the smallest of areas. It had been where he slept as a pup. Now, he could barely squeeze his torso in but it felt safe to hide his face there. He moaned softly as he could still hear the deep rumbles of thunder. 

What he didn’t realize was during his hiding of the storm, a stray merman sought protection from the storm as well. In Yuuri’s cave. 

When the storm finally passed on, the raven-haired male slipped out. The storm had stolen his day away. His hiding spot had no food either. He slipped out to his patches of food but paused. Something was different. Something was laying practically on his carefully cared for patches of food. 

What was it? In this dim of light, the best way to tell would be to touch it.

Yuri debated hard. It hadn’t moved yet. Maybe it was a turtle? He slides forward a bit more. That would have to be a huge turtle. Possibly another piece of driftwood that the storm had thrown at him? Yuri swallowed thickly. 

There was no way it could be a merman. Alone? 

He reached forward slowly, clenching his useless eyes shut to touch whatever was ruining his food. He screamed when it moved beneath his hands. If the touch had not been enough to wake the other up, the scream surely was. 

Yuri had himself pressed against the wall of his cave. 

The other merman sat up rather quickly. Yuri couldn’t hear anything, but just started blabbing. 

“Please, I’m sorry. You are on my food. If you want anything else, you can have it. Just, please, I do not have much. I am sorry.” The raven-haired male honestly did not have anything besides the few shells and other little trinkets he had collected. 

“Oh,” The first thing the other merman said sounded rather surprised. “I am sorry. The storm kicked up a nasty current and I just sought shelter here. Where is your pod?” The voice was kind, musical. Loneliness struck Yuri’s heart hard at the mention of a pod. 

After mentally debating, he sighed. “I never had one. I was born blind.” He felt that was enough of an explanation. There was no reason to dump all his problems onto the stranger, right? 

He kept his eyes closed, frustrated at his stomach at being hungry right now when there was a lack of light. The silence made him turn his head slightly to try and find any sort of noise. It was the best he could do right now. 

“Oh.” Apparently, this other merman did not know how to react. “My name is Victor. I can introduce you to my pod! We are open to having new people join us.” 

Yuri fidgeted. “It is nice to meet you. My name is Yuuri. I would like you to leave now.” This was his home, though if it came to a fight this other merman could probably easily throw him out. 

The easiest choice was just to push this merman away. Why attempt to build a relationship when there was so many more mermaids and merman with vision to choose? Yuuri knew deep in his heart he would never mate. No one would truly want him, even if he ever felt comfortable enough to leave the caves, he would forever need aid traveling with the pod. And hunting. There was no choice at all. No one would choose him even with such a rare tail color. 

“At least let me hunt for you tonight, since I slept on your food.” Victor responded, tone still as happy as ever. It was as if Yuuri had not even asked the other to leave. 

Finally, Yuuri just nodded. Fish sounded wonderful. In truth, he craved them often but had no ability to chase the fast little things over the reefs. Maybe an eel would have been easier, but the chances of Yuuri seeing one before getting bit in the nose was so low. 

“O-okay.” He finally stammered out as the other merman seemed to wait for an answer. 

The raven-haired male opened his eyes to see the dark blob finally swim off. He relaxed slightly before swimming to his patches of algae and lightly touching them. They were destroyed. His heart sank lightly before just accepted it. It was not the first time. If Yuuri didn’t monitor them constantly, hungry fish tried to get free meals. This was probably the worst damage he had faced. It would mean a few weeks of low hunger at least. Maybe he could find some starfish on the walls nearby. 

The little merman jumped hard as the other suddenly returned. It was so strange to suddenly have another merman around. 

“I found us a sleeping parrot fish! Here, I’ll prepare it for you.” The other seemed so pleased. Yuuri just nodded meekly. 

He flinched hard at the touch to his hand. “Thank you.” He muttered softly, accepting the pieces of fish and eating them slowly. It tasted it absolutely wonderful, delicate and soft. After being alone for so long, Yuuri was not aware that he made the softest and happy noises at the delicacy presented to him. 

Victor only hummed softly in approval. The raven-haired male did not realize basically the whole fish went to him. It just tasted so delicious. The other thing he did not realize was how underweight he looked compared to the other merman. He barely did anything, so his muscles were vastly degraded. 

“Would you like another?” Victor asked, sounding so nice and willing. 

Yuuri finally shook his head. “No, thank you though.” What else should he say? 

He bowed his head, closing his eyes tight. Please let Victor go away so Yuuri can return to his normal life. 

However, Yuuri never felt any sort of water movement signaling the other left. “Victor?” 

“Yes, Yuuri?” The other responded happily. 

“Oh..” So he hadn’t left. Was he hoping for sex? “Are you hurt? I have some seaweed stored.” Why was that what he offered? Maybe it was that there was nothing that Yuuri could do to scare the other off. 

His neck was free of mating marks, so Victor would know he was alone. 

“I was not injured. I just do not understand; how are you not lonely? Why did you not join your fathers’ pod?” Victor truly sound concerned. 

Only these were questions Yuuri did want to answer. Why did it matter? Did Victor not understand what ‘blind’ meant? He felt along the edges of his cave for comfort. 

Yuuri frowned. “I like these caves. I was raised here.” 

Didn’t he? No, these questions were useless. This was his home. Here, Yuuri was safe. 

“But what about a pod? Playmates?” Victor prodded again. 

This merman truly must not understand. Yuuri would explain. “So, maybe you do not understand. Let me explain. I have no vision. I cannot see. My world is filled with black. I have no pod because I cannot swim without being disoriented. My father attempted to teach me how to swim in pods, but I could not do it. I never had playmates, or a pod. So no, I am not lonely. I am happy here in my caves.” 

And then there was silence. Victor stayed silent.

“So, you can leave. I would like to return to sleep.” Yuuri felt awkward in the silences around others, or maybe just Victor. 

“Alright. Take care, Yuuri.” Victor spoke softly. And then he was gone. 

Yuuri finally had his wonderful silence back. Only in its wake was a hole. Maybe it was the loss of the food. The parrotfish tasted like heaven; better than he remembered from his childhood. He felt were Victor had worked on the fish for scraps. His heart soared as he found a few, even nibbling a bit of the scales before decided they truly were not inedible. The rest of the fish went out of the cave. 

What Yuuri did not realize is that Victor only swam a distance away. Victor saw Yuri hunt through the scraps pathetically. 

\-----

The next morning found Yuuri hiding in the back of the cave again. The tones of talking were close. Whoever it may be only meant trouble. Or at least he thought. Until another the voice from last night called out in surprise. 

“See! I am not lying. Here the caves are!” Victor sounded so excited. How many others were with him? “Yuuri! I brought breakfast and my friend! His name is also Yuri. Please, come out before I come in.” 

Maybe they would go away the sooner Yuuri came out. His heart was pounding though. He slipped from the depths of the caves, hovering just inside of the entrance. He kept his eyes forward, wide as he attempted to take in the shapes in front of him. It only seemed like two, but there was no true way to tell. 

“Ah! Good morning Yuuri! After telling my pod about you, I convinced them to stay for a few days. I thought after we eat all three of us could swim together!” As Victor spoke, he attempted to hand Yuuri the food. 

It was so tempting. But the terror. “I already ate, and I have to clean after the storm.” He hated saying the excuses. He already craved the few brief touches he had gotten from last night.

The new merman scoffed at this. “He obviously is not interested. Let’s go, these waters are too warm.” 

Yuuri was not sure what was going on. The new merman sounded young, if his voice was anything to go by. 

Victor was not disheartened though. “Please Yuuri! Just try it with us today. I will bring you right back here once we are done. Just a little? We can even stay in this cute little cove!” 

He was begging. Yuuri did not know what to do, or what a cove even was. 

“You might as well say yes.” The higher pitched tone said. “Victor will not leave until you do.” 

It made Yuuri’s heart sink. But, maybe a few minutes and then Victor would see how pathetic he was. His nod matched his hopes for how well this would go, absolutely tiny. He figured the two merman were about to drag him far from the cave and ditch him for sport. At least the new one was right. The waters were warm. He may be able to find the caves again before another winter storm blew in. 

Victor took Yuuri’s hand. The grip was warm and tight. It came with a large dose of anxiety. “I will not let go!” Victor announced, tugging lightly. 

Then they were off. Victor kept Yuuri’s hand within his own, pulling the raven-haired male easily through the waters. 

Yuuri felt the loss of the caves instantly. There was nothing protecting him from attacks now. The movements felt so fast. Yuuri had no clue that in truth, it was an extremely slow pace for Victor. Yuuri’s own swimming was uncoordinated. He had never practiced since his parents left. The cave itself was tiny, so he often just used his hands to pull himself along. 

Victor shifted their bodies gently so that Yuuri’s back was completely pressed against Victor’s chest. It was then the Yuuri could feel just how strong and large the other merman was. His own swimming faltered at the ease at which Victor cut through the water. It felt wonderful suddenly, just as safe as his cave but better.  
“You don’t swim often, do you?” The new one asked. He was close by. 

Yuuri did not know what exactly made his face heat, but he felt so uncomfortable. “I have no need. I have my cave, my algae patches.” It seemed pitiful now. 

There was no response to that. Victor shifted them again. The elder kept his touch gentle. “Want to go to the surface for a moment? I bet we could see the shore here with how shallow this is!” 

Victor’s excitement temporarily made Yuuri not understand the question. Nor did he quite realize they were swimming to the surface before Yuri felt something he never had before. 

He panicked, wrenching from Victor’s grip to dash back to the bottom. 

The surface was the most dangerous. That was what his mother always said. She told him so many times never to swim up there. Human ships could be on the surface and see Yuuri. Since he couldn’t see them, they could take him and keep him hostage. They could use him. Test him. Terrible things. No matter what, Yuuri was never to be above the surface. 

As he reached the surface floor, Yuri began to try to feel for his caves. Safety. It was all he wanted. Only he could not see the wall of the cave anymore. Victor was there almost instantly. 

“Yuuri! What’s wrong? It’s okay. Here, I’ll take you back to your caves.” Victor was touching him again, hauling Yuuri easily through the waters. It was easy to tell the merman was panicking. 

It was the familiar brush of the wall that brought a sob of relief. Yuri pressed himself deep inside, shaking like a leaf. 

“Yuri, talk to me. I’m sorry. It is just the surface. You can breathe the air up there too, you know.” Victor sounded upset. 

Yuuri flinched away as the other tried to touch him again. 

“Go away.” Yuuri whimpered. This must just be some huge joke on him. No other reason. It was just for these merman to have a laugh at how truly pathetic he was. Yuuri couldn’t deal with this anymore. 

“GO AWAY. LEAVE ME ALONE.” He cried out. It apparently had shocked the other two enough not to talk.

Yuuri did not see the small, blonde merman leading the larger one away. 

Later he would find the fish that Victor had brought for breakfast. Yuuri ate them anyways. He figured such precious nutrients shouldn’t go to waste. It was filling. Oddly comforting to be so full. The stress left Yuuri emotionally exhausted. He curled and napped for a while. 

\----

A strange feeling woke Yuuri from his sleep. He stirred slowly, listening intently for a few minutes to attempt to figure out what it might be. It took a long moment to realize it was not what was in the ocean that bothered Yuuri, but his emotions within. The blue tailed male felt so lonely now. He moved to his algae patch, allowing himself a small snack for the afternoon. After the past two hearty meals, it felt extremely slim and pathetic. 

This truly was not the life a merman was supposed to live. Yuuri knew that deep in his heart. And though it made his heart clench and a rock form in his throat, the young merman couldn’t help but imagine what a pod must be like. If most matched Victor’s personality, it must be tons of fun to be able to swim around and chase each other. Even though the surface scared him, he bet in a pod it probably was safe to investigate. With a pod he could probably investigate deep waters, sunken ships and even shallow bays. 

How Yuuri normally passed his days seemed pathetic now. Of course Victor had left without a fight. In fact, the little tantrum probably proved to Victor not only how young Yuuri was but also just how useless he was. Yuuri could still the panic of not knowing where exactly his cave was. 

What he did not realize is the reason Victor had come back with the younger merman. 

All he could focus on was how pathetic he felt. Though his parents never knew, he had overheard his father arguing with his mother about how his pod would never take such a defective merman in. 

Somewhere off in the distance, Yuuri could faintly hear a song being sung. It sounded so sad from what he could hear. 

Moving slowly, Yuuri bumped off something from the edge of his cave. He felt out slowly, fingers colliding on a smooth shell. Carefully, Yuuri felt it out to ensure that no creature lived inside. When there wasn’t one, he felt confusion. How did this get here? In the bright afternoon light, he held the shell inches from his nose to make out what it looked like. His heart pounded at the whiteness of the shell, just like Victor’s tail. He clutched it as loneliness returned with full force. Go figure that Yuuri would fall hopelessly in love with a merman whom he only knew the name of. 

“Yuuri?” The call was enough to startle the raven-haired male. 

“Victor?” Of course it was Victor, as that was the only merman in the ocean that knew his name it felt like. 

“I came to apologize again. I truly am sorry. I brought you more food as well, an eel we found.”” Victor did sound so sad. 

Yuuri swallowed, holding the shell close to his chest. “Did you bring this shell this morning?” It was so similar to the one he had smashed accidentally. 

“Yes! I was so excited to swim with you I forgot to mention I found it!” Yuuri did not even need to see to be able to tell the other had lit up in happiness. 

“It’s wonderful. Thank you.” Yuuri spoke softly, slowly placing it out of the way in his cave. 

He swam forward hesitantly, wanting to touch Victor’s chest again. “Would you,” He swallowed hard, “Would you swim with me once more? If you are in a hurry, I understand. I just, I probably won’t get too again. It was nice.” Yuuri knew that the panic of being in the open had been dimmed when Victor was holding him, guiding him. 

Victor closed the gap between them suddenly, gripping Yuri’s hands hard. “Oh yes! I would love to!” And then they were swimming again, gently. Victor’s calming tones filled Yuuri’s attention. “Do you know this is a beautiful cove? See, here we are right on the edge. There is a protected entrance. It is hard to find though, this area. I think with enough practice that you could get comfortable swimming out here.

“But, you know,” And Victor’s tone seemed hesitant now. “This does not have to be your home. I talked with my friends about your situation. We would take care of you out in the deep. You would be wonderful at watching the pups well we hunted. And someone would be around to give you a hand and help you in the new places. We do not move that often either, only twice a year, maybe three times. And when we do move it is to the same locations. See, we are on our way to our winter area now that mating season is over and the new pups have joined us. The storm caught us off guard so late in the season. We take care of our own, including you.” 

This offer, it was what Yuuri dreamed off. He felt his heart pounding at the simple words. Could it be this easy? 

“Victor,” Yuuri paused their swimming by putting a bit of space between them. “You all will get tired of me. I cannot swim easily or very far. I cannot hunt. Your interest in me will fade. I lived this long because I am reasonably safe here. I worked out a system for food. I am worthless, but here I can at least live without others worrying about me.”

And it was a soft kiss on Yuuri’s lips that stopped him. Victor had kissed him gently, in such a familiar way. 

“As I said, we take care of our own.” Victor made it seem so simple. His hands were on Yuuri’s sides, pressing into his easily felt ribs. “You are terribly thin. The warm waters have aided in keeping you alive but this is not a natural water temperature for you. It is why you sleep so often. One season with us! Please, Yuuri. Just give me one season to show you that our pod cares, I care! It pains my heart to see you were, living a half-life.”

How could Yuuri say no? Or even yes? 

This close, he could see the merman had silver hair and sharp features against pale skin. They were inches apart. Oh, and beautiful blue eyes. 

He floundered, truly unable to speak. 

“I….” He started, but the words stuck in his throat as he could not himself figure out if it was a yes or a no. 

“Yuuri, what else do I need to do to prove I am worthy of you?” Victor said suddenly. 

And then it clicked. Yuuri froze hard as he realized what all of this meant. Victor had hunted for him multiple times. Brought Yuuri a gift. Shown Yuuri off to a friend. Swam with Yuuri. Victor wished to mate with him. 

Yuuri bite his lip before shaking his head. Somehow his hands had found their way back into Victors’. “Just have faith in me that I can do this. Just stand by me if you do choose me!” 

Victor pulled Yuuri into a gentle hug. He pressed a soft kiss to Yuuri’s forehead. “I will. I promise.” 

It shouldn’t have been that simple. But it was. Victors’ pod embraced Yuuri was Victor’s mate. They aided him in learning their new locations and never left him alone. It was the family Yuri had always wanted, but never thought he could have.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I have received comments that the ending is a but abrupt. I do realize this. I had already planned to eventually add in an epilogue, though I may be adding in a bit more. I hope the ending has not ruined the piece.


End file.
